Strike Kills Hezbollah Commander in Lebanon |
Lebanese militant group Hezbollah said today that commander Wissam Hassan al-Tawil was killed (NYT) in an air strike in southern Lebanon, for which unnamed Lebanese officials told Reuters that Israel was responsible. Israel did not immediately comment on the strike, which came after Hezbollah attacks damaged an Israeli military base on Saturday. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned (Reuters) yesterday that the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas “could easily metastasize” to the wider region. Blinken and senior European officials are currently in the region, and Italy said that Group of Seven (G7) countries are working with Israel “to find a rapid way out of the military phase” of the war, which has now passed three months of conflict.
Israeli officials said on Saturday that the country’s military campaign in the Gaza Strip has successfully dismantled (FT) Hamas as a fighting force in northern Gaza and is moving into a new and more targeted phase of war that is focused on the enclave’s center and south.
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“As Israel moves to destroy [Hamas’s] underground network, troops remain under fire, and additional tunnels are discovered each day. Completing this job could take a few more months. In a tunnel war requiring stamina, time, and perseverance, ending the war prematurely could mean defeat,” Reichman University’s Daphné Richemond-Barak writes for Foreign Policy.
“Hezbollah and Iran have signaled clearly, repeatedly, they want to avoid a wider war. Israel keeps testing that position,” Columbia University’s Kim Ghattas posts.
Read the full suite of Foreign Affairs and CFR.org resources on Israel and the current conflict.
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Report: Xi’s Military Purge Linked to Corruption, War Readiness Concerns |
U.S. intelligence suggests Chinese President Xi Jinping’s firings of senior military officials in recent months are due to corruption that hampered the country’s war capabilities, Bloomberg reported. Unnamed sources familiar with the intelligence cited several acts of graft, including missiles allegedly being filled with water instead of fuel. The corruption has decreased Xi’s likelihood to carry out major military action in the coming years, U.S. officials reportedly believe.
Japan: Authorities arrested (Nikkei) a legislator from the largest faction within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party amid an ongoing probe into corruption allegations. Prime Minister Kishida Fumio said he took the arrest very seriously, and that his party should “restore public trust in politics.”
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Bangladesh’s Hasina Wins Fourth Term in Low-Turnout Election |
Reelected Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s Awami League won 223 seats (NYT) of the 299 parliamentary seats being contested in yesterday’s election marred by an opposition boycott. Around 40 percent of registered voters participated, election authorities said.
Myanmar: An opposition rebel alliance took over (Reuters) the town of Laukkai on the border with China after weeks of fighting against junta troops, the alliance and Myanmar’s government said. The town’s capture is the latest victory for the rebels in their monthslong offensive against the military government.
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Middle East and North Africa |
Germany Prepared to Resume Eurofighter Jet Deliveries to Saudi Arabia |
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said (Reuters) yesterday that the world, particularly the Middle East, “has become a completely different place since October 7,” the day that Palestinian militant group Hamas attacked Israel. Berlin had previously halted arms sales to Riyadh after the killing of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018. |
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Congo Election Invalidates Votes Cast for Eighty-Two Candidates in December Race |
Election authorities have still not released full results for the December 20 election, but they announced (Reuters) that a probe into alleged fraud and other irregularities led to the votes being suspended. President Félix Tshisekedi won the presidency in a landslide victory; the opposition has contested the vote and has asked for a re-run.
For the Africa in Transition blog, CFR expert Michelle Gavin looks at how history bred skepticism in the Congolese election.
Gambia: Former Interior Minister Ousman Sonko is on trial (Reuters) in Switzerland today for charges including murder, rape, and torture allegedly committed between 2000 and 2016. He is the highest-ranking official to be tried in Europe under a universal jurisdiction principle that allows grave crimes to be prosecuted anywhere.
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Russian Missile Barrage on Ukraine Reportedly Kills Four People |
Ukrainian air defense systems intercepted (FT) eighteen of fifty-one missiles shot by Russia overnight, the largest nationwide attack yet this year, Ukrainian officials said. At least four people were killed; ten people were also reportedly killed on Saturday by Russian strikes on the town of Pokrovsk.
Brussels: European Council President Charles Michel will run (FT) for a European legislative seat in this year’s elections, requiring him to step down from his position early if he wins. His term is up in November, and the elections occur in June. |
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Ecuador Crime Boss Escapes From Prison |
Guards said they could not find (BBC) José Adolfo Macías Villamar, the head of the Los Choneros gang, in the jail’s maximum-security ward yesterday, prompting hundreds of police officers to search for him. Los Choneros are thought to be behind some of Ecuador’s large-scale prison riots in recent months. For the Latin America’s Moment blog, CFR expert Will Freeman explains how a surge in violent crime has Ecuador reeling.
Brazil: The government is holding a ceremony (Reuters) in its congress today to mark the one-year anniversary of a riot on the capitol complex by supporters of former President Jair Bolsonaro who were protesting the results of Brazil’s 2022 presidential election. Bolsonaro is under investigation by Brazil’s Supreme Court for orchestrating the riots, which he denies.
This photo essay by CFR’s Sabine Baumgartner and Diana Roy shows the extent of Brazil’s capitol riots.
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House, Senate Leaders Reach Provisional Spending Deal to Avert Shutdown |
The roughly $1.7 trillion deal for government funding this year would avoid (NYT) a shutdown later this month by increasing defense spending to $886.3 billion and keeping nondefense spending at $772.7 billion, near its current level. The bill still awaits passage in both houses of Congress. |
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